This is what he typed up for me before he left. It is very throuough, however I can't get the ph to give me a steady reading so Im just skipping that part ( I even tied the meter to a string and then tied the string to a piece of wood and suspended the meter in the tub for 5 mins and it was all over the place)
His notes read the following for ppm
March 9th 32 days veg ph 5.75, ppm 830 res 1, ph 6.0 ppm 740 res 2
March 10th res 1 ph 5.7 ppm 970 res 2: ph 6.05 ppm 950
March 11th res 1 ph 6.0 ppm 940 res 2: ph 6.45 ppm 920
March 14th res 1 ph 5.8 ppm 890 res 2: all he writes is FLUSH BEGINS
March 20th (today) I measured and my tap water is 110, res 1 was 60ppm and res 2 was 90ppm. And I can't get the stupid ph meter to work properly.
Below is what he sent me. I guess if you agree with what he says then he already wrote it all out. It didnt copy the picture he had pasted into the word doc, but that plant was yellllllllllow! More yellow then green! And he says that I have to use my discretion but that they should be more yellow then that. Oy vey!
Here is what he wrote me: (thanks again for your help!!!!!!!)
Some Basics:
1) In deep water culture (dwc) growing, the key to roots being suspended in water is having the water oxygenated.so after you have been messing around in the tubs try to make sure the 3 airstones are spread out in the general root areas
2) The pH level should always be between 5.6-6.1, the ideal level is 5.8 but it will never stay constant. I try to keep the water level just below the line on inside. when full of just water from shower, about 1.5-2 tsp. of pH down does the trick.
3) Can't get accurate readings of ppm and pH meters until at least an hour after adding everything. takes time for them to dissolve
4) Nutrients-3 part series Grow/Micro/Bloom. in veg they go in as a 3:2:1 ratio and you will slowly change that to 1:2:3 in bloom. there is a ratio guide on back of bottles if you get lost. don't listen to amounts just follow ratio. PPM should be around 1000. if leaves start to yellow right before i get out they need a bit more nutrients. If tips look burnt too many nutes, dilute with water. More on this in a minute.
5) Ideal water temp is under 70 degrees. ice bottles help but keeping the room temp cool (window) is your best friend here.
6) Room temps should be kept under 80 if possible, 70 is ideal.
7) Light should be 18-24 inches from the top of the plant (jilly bean probably has to be your marker for this) watch tempsfrom outdoor thermometer (i leave that one on the top of jily) top of plants cant get too hot. as they grow pull the light up a bit
Its healthy to put the big fan on low in the room for a half hour or an hour to change out fresh air and the blowing will help strengthen the branches. if left for a day or two can break a weak branch or cause windburn.
9) Big Key-dont stress too much on any one thing, this can be simple and they can be revived from most circumstances. If any of the plants get sick and end up dying, dont worry its just a plant. Listen to the plants, they will let you know how they are doing, if they are looking fine then leave alone, and if they are looking sick refer to below and be patient after treating.
Now the Nitty Gritty:
FLUSHING- On or around Wed. or Thurs. you will finally get to get you hands dirty. Let's start of with understanding what flushing is. The nutrients put in are all salt compounds and elements like potassium, nitrogen, phosphorous, ect. As these dissolve into the water and are sucked up by the plants the salts are left behind to build up in the resevoir, on the roots and in the plant. So every once in a while we give the plants just plain water with no nutrients to "flush" them out. Ideally this will take place for 7-10 days, a good visual indicator is watching the leaves. After a few days they will start to yellow probably starting at the bottom. this is the newer growth not receiving enough nutrients so they suck the life literally right out of the lower larger leaves. This is a good indicator that flushing has gone on long enough and they need some food, you don't want to let the plant yellow too much or it can die or will go into shock and stunt in again. At this point you will beginning adding nutes back into res.
-PROCESS: This will be a bit difficult as it is hard to manuever around the screen and lifting buckets full of water.Start with one resevior at a time. You will have to remove the 3 plants first, they fit really well in the pitcher, so i put one plant in the purple and one plant in the clear pitcher, and the 3rd probably sitting in a sink, just beconcious of the roots, they are fragile! At this point remove the lid and set it aside. Grab the 3 airstones and follow the hoses to the pump outlets and turn off just the valve connected to those(so other tub is still working) and i would soak the airstones in some alcohol for a few minutes then thoroughly flushed out and dried. If you can lift the tub out and i would dump it in the shower then thats prob the easiest so you can rinse it out well after. If you can't lift it out over the wood frame then i want you to cut a hole where the drain is and just dump it in the tub, and try to rinse it out well after. Set the first tub outside bathroom and put lid on and plants in place. Then slide second tub out from under the screen and repeat same process. when done you can fill the tub with cold water and try to adjust the pH to 5.8 (about 2 tsp of pH down when tub is filled to groove on inside). put airstones back under each plant and turn them all on, and get eveything back in place. Now pack a bowl cuz you are done with the res change and can rest easy for a few days to a week. As water level decreases as the plants drink up, just continue to top off each day back up to the groove with cup or pitcher.
NUTRIENTS So approximately 3-7 days after the plants have been in flush mode by drinking only water, you should notice the leaves starting to yellow . This is the plants sucking up stored nutrients from the older fan leaves. This is precisely what we want to happen. We are getting rid of all the salt build up and all the built up nutrients. Now the plant should get a little yellower than the picture here, but not too yellow. Here you will have to use your best judgment. At this point thankfully, we dont need to change the res water, you can just add nutrients straight into the reservoir. Now if you remember from above we are currently using the nutrients Grow/Micro/Bloom in the ratio of 3:2:1. So to start things off put in 3 tsp of Flora Grow, then 2 tsp of Flora Micro, then 1 tsp of Flora Bloom. You will most likely need to add some more nutrients this is just a starting point. It takes a little bit of time for it to dissolve and to get an accurate reading from the TDS meter(green) so you can go sit for an hour or so. Then go take a reading with the TDS meter(just stick in water or pull cup of res water out). I think this will read somewhere around 500 ppm (just a guess), we want the end measurement to read around 1200ppm. So think about the nutes you put in already and what measurement they got you to, and using the ratio 3:2:1 add some more to get in close to 1000 or 1200 ppm. Again once you add some more wait 30-45 minutes before taking another reading. Adjust as necessary, if it gets to hi the dilute with some water. Next dissolve 2-3 tsp of Epsom salts in a glass of warm water and put it in the reservoir, do this again to the other. Also check the pH and adjust it to 5.8(doesnt have to be perfect but between 5.6 an 6.0) read the end of FLUSHING section for directions on adjusting. With a full tub(up to the groove) about 1 tsp of pH down(orange) will move pH level down .5, if it gets to low you can make smaller changes by diluting with the tap water (pH of 7.5) or if need be use pH UP (blue) sparingly.
ROUTINE UPKEEP: Now the plants wont necessarily need much attention each day, the way I figure it I set you up a little check-up list that is easy to do and you can do every other day. The only daily thing to check on is temperature. The bins are akward to get to to change out ice bottles(if you can put them in each morning and take out at night to let freeze) The reservoir water temp will directly reflect the room temps, so keeping the room in low 70s or upper 60s is easiest way to keep the water cool. Im not worried about having you check temps all the time im just gonna trust they will at least be alive still when im done. I like to crack the window open and put the vornado fan kind under the desk as thats where the cool air pools up. But that shoul take care of room temps for you simply enough. Also fill humidifier each day and you can just leave on low and fill only once a day, that should be fine for them. Ok now for the every other day or every 2 day routine. There is a notepad on the toilet or counter that I record info on and you will see how I write it down. Res 1 on left, res 2 on right. So when you come in to do this routine FIRST I want you to top off the tubs with cold water(helps with temps) and again fill to the groove on inside. Next grab both of the meters, the green TDS meter and the beige pH and temp meter. Take readings from both resevoirs with both meters and record the PPM and pH. The pH meter will take a second to level out a reading, also you dont have to worry about recording temp as that part takes like 5 minutes to get an accurate reading. At this point you will notice two things 1) the pH went up probably to around 6.5 (if this doesnt happen and pH is still 5.8 then skip this step) and if it did rise add some pH down (orange). Remember when res is filled one tsp will lower about .5 2) the ppm level dropped a little bit it means plants are eating. This may not happen the first check but should for others. You dont need to adjust this each time, just let them eat what is in there. Typically this wont drop too much(20-50pts) each time you check it. If ppm level is below say 5 or 600 though, you should add a little more nutrients(3:2:1). Leaves will being to regain color after getting nutrients, if they stop getting greener or if the plant yellows again after it has already regained color this means the plants needs more food so you can add more nutrients. That is your every 2-day routine just measuring and correcting. Now if you can, mist the plants with the spray bottle either within an hour of the lights coming on or right before they go off if you are up, you can just do this like on days you take measurments, or however it works out, but this is not necessary and if you can do it only needs to be done like every two days. Any change you make to the water will take a couple of days to reflect via the plant.
SOME THINGS TO LOOK FOR:
- If leaves start to droop check airstones to make sure they are bubbling under each plant
- Check the new growth at the tops of the plants to see if the tips are starting to curl up or look burnt. This means too many nutes. In this case empty some water and fill with tap to dilute.
- If leaves are beginning to yellow they might need some more nutes added so you can take a reading and check the level and then raise it
THE ScrOG: Behind the Screen of Green
This type of cultivation, called scrog, is based on the horizontal grow and it permits to optimize variable factors, as vertical space and light.
The theory is very simple: a horizontal net, and the plant will be forced to pass through the holes of the net. This technique is particularly indicated for small spaces, where the height of the plant can be managed in a horizontal way. Moreover, scrog is useful to take the best from lamps: often the biggest leaves will overshadow the rest of the plant. The horizontal grow solve this problem putting leaves at the same distance from lights. As the plants growth shoots get to be a few inches through the screen you pull the tips back under and stretch them to the next square. This will fill up the screen and should be done for about one week after you flip the lights to the 12/12 flowering, then stopped so the colas can grow upwards in order to have ample space for buds to fill out. It is best to try to organize the way you tuck them to try and fill the screen evenly. If this gets difficult to manage that is ok you can just let the plant grow through the screen its not a huge deal.
CHANGING THE LIGHT CYCLE: When switching to bloom light cycle is 12 hours on 12 off(you will have to reset timer).In bloom it is crucial that NO LIGHT reach the plants. 1 minute of dim lighting will revert the plant back to veg. state. This means you will have to pick a time for them to turn on (where you can open bathroom door and pull vornado out) and planning on that within 12 hours you have to put fan back into bathroom to shut the door. you can pick 7am-7pm or like 9am-9pm or so on. Also possible to make it at night, so light comes on at like 10 pm(you open door) an will operate over night and shut off at 10am (in this case door NEEDS to be shut with towel in front of it no later than say 10am or whatever time you choose).
When to Change the Lights Wait about 2 days after you add the nutrients back into the reservoirs after flushing then change the light timer on the power strip. You will want to switch this during a lights on period and have them go off early one night to start the 12/12 cycle.
What to Expect from The Switch When the plants are exposed to12 hours of darkness its releases a hormone to tell the plant it is mature and can begin its Flowering stage. During the beginning of this stage the plants will go through what we call the stretch, this is very rapid growth that will last 1-3 weeks and the plants will double or triple in size. This is very strain dependent, for instance the hash plant might only grow a foot in the first week then stop vertical growth and focus its energy on buds. The ISS or Jilly Bean will probably triple in size and may continue growing vertical for up to 3 weeks after the light switch. It will be during this first week you will be doing most of your tucking with the screen, only tuck the plants back under for 7 days max then stop and they can grow vertical. Its at this point where depending on rate of growth the plants might blow through the screen and just rip the net off. If so thats fine, and if the plants get a little crazy its ok not to worry about tucking them under. Around now you should be getting ready to come bring me home! You have done a great job and are a wonderful mother. And you did say after all that you wanted to learn about actually taking care of them, what better way huh?
He changed the res water to tap water on Monday the 14th and told me that most likely by sat I would notice them yellowing and I would need to add nutes...and then two days later change out the lights.
I will probably plan on adding the nutes tomorrow when I get off work so I would appreciate any feedback you have. Thank you again for helping me! Have a great Monday!
(I love emoticons!)
I cant wait to call him on that! I decided that today I will begin adding nutes. They are just now starting to yellow and I think its time. My boyfriend gets back the 28th which is just around the corner. I wanted to try and just let them keep growing so he could help me with the flowering, but he said they would get too big especially since they will at least double during flowering. However they really havent grown that much. Would it be horrible if I just added nutes and just kept them alive? I havent checked the ph level but whatever they look fine. I try to keep the air stones spread out but they kinda have a mind of their own and they seem to like to gather together. Will the ladies be ok with no nutrients for 10 days? Or is that a no no? I thought that in order to deposit the crap they dont want and cleanse themselves they had to turn yellow first. Is this not true? I feel that since my boyfriend spends so many hours in there I should too but at the end of the day as long as they have what they need they seem to be fine. The roots look a little brown at the base, but then the bottom roots are white. I feel like my boyfriend would soak them in something but really I have no idea. 
But for now they shall remain so. Let me know about the nutes. I will add them tonight. Or do I let them actually yellow?
Oy vey! I believe I should first dilute the nutes in pitcher of water and then let the pitcher sit for a bit and then pour it in? Micro first! I should have been paying more attention! Thanks again for your help! Oh and ya know whats funny? this website was blocked from my friends computer and her internet. Hmmm....censorship?
Its not like im burning them in an acid bath. Do the nutes change the ph level? Is that why we monitor this? This morning the ppm for for res 1 was 260 and res 2 was 350 which is low so I gave them a double dose this morning and we shall see what it reads around 5 when I get home. 